Best Animated Short has long been a category overlooked by audiences — maybe they’re too experimental, too niche, too idiosyncratic. But perhaps the largest reason they’re overlooked is because no one has seen them. Apart from Pixar and Disney animated shorts, which reach the highest audiences thanks to their placement in front of theatrical releases, Oscar-nominated animated shorts often suffer from engagement scarcity, nearly always kept offline even after the shortlist is announced. This was an exclusive strategy that hurt the directors, but also hurt the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which only alienates its audiences by presenting awards to films no one had seen.

But this year, we’re seeing a dramatic shift for the first time. This year, all the shorts on the Oscar animated shorts 2019 shortlist are available online for everyone to see. The filmmakers and studios have each released their films online, allowing audiences to finally see what the Academy is voting for — and maybe get a more accurate Oscar pool going this year.